Tuesday night was a big night for America, and a big night for business. Not necessarily in a good way.

Here at the Sacramento Business Journal, we’re digging into what state results will mean for local companies. If you'd like to offer your thoughts, go to our quick survey and tell us what you think.

But the national election has local impact too, of course. Most notably: Health reform is here to stay. Anyone who hoped that a President Romney would halt the Affordable Care Act must confront a different reality this morning.

Here’s a dispatch from our Washington bureau chief, Kent Hoover, spelling out key takeaways for the business community:

It's safe to say that many business owners didn't want President Barack Obama to be re-elected. But now they're stuck with him. How do you make this relationship work?

Here are three suggestions from business leaders as to how Obama and Congress should work together:

Put aside partisan bickering and start solving problems

This is one area where there is widespread consensus among business leaders.

"The time for politics is over. It's time now for governing," said Greg Casey, president of the Business Industry PAC. "I think the business community is ready to participate in that."

"The nation will expect cooperation from the White House and the Congress," said John Engler, president and CEo of the Business Roundtable, which represents large businesses.

"The partisan rancor, negative rhetoric and perpetual gridlock must come to an end so that we can begin to heal this country and get it moving again," said Chris Holman, chair of the National Small Business, CEO Of Michigan Business Network.com and president of the Greater Lansing Business Monthly.

With Obama's victory comes the responsibility to lead efforts to find bipartisan solutions to problems, business leaders say.

Avoid the fiscal cliff and extend current tax rates for a year

Most business groups doubt that any long-term solution to the fiscal cliff can be reached in the few weeks that remain before these across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases go into effect in January.

That's why they hope Obama and Congress will agree on a short-term solution to avoid the fiscal cliff, and then reach a grand bargain on taxes, spending and entitlement reform next year. That means extending current tax policy for another year, instead of picking winners and losers in a lame-duck session, they say.

"There is no reason why all tax relief measures set to expire at year end cannot be extended for another year to allow for a working transition period on tax reform," said Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

"There should be no rush to judgment on an issue that will affect virtually every American citizen," said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla.

Obama, however, made it clear during the presidential campaign that he thinks tax rates on higher-income Americans should be allowed to increase as scheduled Jan. 1 in order to reduce federal deficits.

"I would think he is going to stand firm on that," said John Arensmeyer, president of Small Business Majority.

Arensmeyer thinks raising taxes on high-income Americans next year is a good start toward deficit reduction, since it would raise $1 trillion over 10 years. This tax increase wouldn't hurt many small business owners, he contends, despite claims to the contrary by other business groups and Republicans.

Kerrigan thinks a compromise will be reached to avoid the fiscal cliff, but "someone's ox will be gored in the short term."

"The fog is too thick from the nasty campaign to see who or what industry that may be," she said.

Make health care reform work for small businesses

Health care reform is here to stay, thanks to Obama's re-election and Democrats' success at retaining control of the Senate. So even business groups that opposed health care reform must now learn to live with it.

Some business groups, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, will focus on provisions of the law that they contend make health insurance more expensive, such as a new tax on health insurers.

Amanda Austin, NFIB's director of federal public policy, said the tax will raise the cost of health insurance premiums by about $500 a year.

"We encourage President Obama to make good on his praise of small business during the campaign by working with the new Congress to repeal this tax, which is already holding back hiring at the small business level," Austin said.

Obama isn't likely to agree to repealing this tax, since it's part of how Congress paid for the law's expansion of health care coverage.

Arensmeyer, whose group supported health care reform, said the time for repealing even part of the law is past. It's time now to "get this thing implemented in a way that's going to be most favorable to small businesses."

That means states that have been resisting health care reform should move forward with setting up health insurance exchanges for individuals and small businesses so they can get better deals on insurance, he said. It also means encouraging more small businesses to use the law's tax credits, which can help some firms cover some of the costs of covering their employees.

"Let's start getting it implemented, and see what works and what doesn't," he said.